Originating 200 million years ago, sturgeons are an ancient migratory fish which is today teetering on the brink of extinction. Currently, 27 sturgeon and paddlefish species inhabit the coastal waters, rivers and lakes of the northern hemisphere and the Danube River basin preserves some of the most important sturgeon populations in the world today.

Although they have outlasted the dinosaurs, nowadays sturgeons are the most endangered animals on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Until the 19th century, giant sturgeons migrated up the Danube as far as Germany and were important mainstays for many fishing communities. But today five out of the six species native to the Danube are listed as critically endangered

Illegal fishing – principally for their caviar – is the main direct threat to the survival of Danube sturgeons. Habitat loss and disruption of spawning migration are further threats to sturgeon survival.

Danube sturgeons play an important role as indicators of healthy ecosystems. They live mostly in the Black Sea, migrating up the Danube and other major rivers to spawn. In the past, they grew up to 4.5 meters long and lived up to 100 years. Due to their long life cycles and late maturity, sturgeons are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and to other threats, including pollution and habitat fragmentation, with stocks taking many years to recover.

The project “Sustainable protection of lower Danube sturgeons by preventing and counteracting poaching and illegal wildlife trade” is coordinated by WWF Austria and implemented by WWF in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, together with Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority in Romania and IZW Leibnitz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany. It started in October 2016 and will continue until the end of 2020.